Gary Blair Returns to Arkansas

Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, who spent 10 seasons as head coach at Arkansas, speaks following the Aggies' 63-51 win over the Razorbacks on Sunday in Bud Walton Arena. The game was Blair's first in Fayetteville since leaving in 2003.
(By Matt Jones)
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FAYETTEVILLE  Nearly a decade removed from roaming its sidelines, Gary Blair proved Sunday he still knows how to win in Bud Walton Arena.

Blair led No. 24 Texas A&M to a 63-51 win over the No. 23 Razorbacks in his first game back in Fayetteville, improving to 2-0 against his former team and former assistant, Tom Collen.

The Aggies (12-5, 2-0) won their first road Southeastern Conference game in their inaugural season in the league. Arkansas fell to 12-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Texas A&M opened the game with an 18-4 run and never trailed. Arkansas hit only 25 percent of its field goal attempts in the opening half and trailed 30-17 at the intermission.

The Razorbacks used a 9-0 run to pull within 43-37 on a Sarah Watkins jumper with 8:37 remaining, but got no closer.

Texas A&M responded with an 11-0 run, quickly increasing its lead to 17 points. The Aggies held the Razorbacks without a made field goal for nearly four minutes during the stretch and Arkansas never got within single-digits again.

Watkins led the Razorbacks with a game-high 19 points and Keira Peak added 11. Courtney Williams led Texas A&M with 16 points, and Kelsey Bone added a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Texas A&M overcame 24 turnovers in the win. The game was a rematch of second round matchup in the NCAA Tournament last season, a 61-59 Aggies win.